10 incredible immersive experiences to do in NYC right now (2024)

It’s hard to imagine anything else at the site of the iconic Rockefeller Center. But 200 years ago, long before the famed skyscraper was built, this land was home to a lushgreenspace called Elgin Gardens—it was America’s first botanical garden.

A new immersive art experiencewill now explore that beautiful history in Rockefeller Center. HERO, which opened inside Rockefeller Center late last year near the ice rink, will debut “BLOOM: The Secret Wonders of New York’s Forgotten Eden” on May 15; it runs through the summer.

At the all-ages exhibit, expect to walk through eight interactive experiences that promise to engage your senses with acaptivating soundscape, changing scentscapes, interactive digital components, and light and video installations.

Digital art and poetry havecombined for a dive into Afrocentricity and Afrofuturism at this new immersive exhibit in Chelsea. "Aṣẹ: Afro Frequencies"is now open at ARTECHOUSE and runs all summer.

The digital art exhibition promises a "vibrant reflection upon the past, present, and future of the Black experience." It's told through the perspective of London-based Afro-surrealist digital artist Vince Fraseralongsideevocative poetryby ursula rucker.

Both artists workedto honor the legacy, struggles, and complexities of the Black experience in their work. Even the exhibition's title, "Aṣẹ"stems from a powerful mantra, affirmation, and philosophical belief held by the Yoruba people of West Africa, meaning "so will it be." (By the way, that's pronounced as AH-shay.)

Basically a massive maze made of ropes, this new exhibit allows attendees to jump inside, climb, relax and even get lost in thewhole webbed arrangement that’s comprised of 80,000 feet of handwoven rope, which is part of a 400-square-foot interactive artwork created by Treenet Collective, a net expert company.

Find "The INTERnet" atINTER_, the interactive art center at 415 Broadway by Canal Street in Soho.

The installation, which accommodates 15 people at once, boasts a variety of different weaving styles, each one creating a "setting" for folks to dive into, including the "quantum leap," where guests can play in mid-air, and the "social network," a more serene space that will feel like you are floating above everyone else.

Think bugs are creepy? Think again. That's the message of IMAGINARI, an immersive art and science experience in Manhattan.

The year-long exhibition calledThe Insect Worldshows just how cool—and important—bugs actually are.You’ll get to walk through fields of 6-foot flowers, come face-to-face with Picasso bug artwork, and see a mantis partying under a disco ball. Larger-than-life ladybug sculptures dot the floor, and 200 faux monarch butterflies perch on a 12-foot cherry blossom tree.Itall adds up to an important message of environmental stewardship.

Ticketsare on sale now for $36; the all-ages exhibition will be on viewuntil April 2025.

Muggles, take note:You won’t need to travel through Platform 9¾ to get to Hogwarts. TheWizarding World of Harry Potteris right here in New York City for a limited time.

Thetouring show,“Harry Potter: The Exhibition,” isnowopen in Herald Square, and it’s going transport you. Through the use of dramatic lighting, set design, interactive technology and even scent, the exhibit will make you feel like you are actually there—in Hagrid’s hut, in potions class, dining in the Great Hall, learning how to fight the dark arts, fighting the Battle of Hogwarts and more.

Ticketsare on sale now throughAugust11, 2024and start at $29 for adults.

Live like Monica, Chandler, Ross, Rachel, Joey and Phoebe atThe FRIENDS Experience: The One in New York City. It's basically an immersive museum celebrating the '90s sitcom. You'll get to walk through rooms that look exactly like the ones on the TV show.

Photo opportunities abound. There’s a chance to pose with the “Pivot” couch, a backdrop that looks like the Vegas chapel, and a photo opp with Phoebe’s grandma’s taxi. You can even pose on top of Pat the Dog, snap a photo with the giant poking device and take a selfie in Monica’s apartment. Using high-quality cameras, staff take photos at each spot, which you can purchase at the end. But staff will also take free photos with your cell phone if you ask.

It's not just a selfie museum, though. There's a fascinating display featuring the show's costume designer Debra McGuire where you'lllearn about her sartorial choices for each character. Another exhibitspotlightsartist Burton Morris, whose Pop art pieces decorate Central Perk. Other display cases featureset designs, signed scripts, props and costumes.

Manymuseums start with some kind of orientation, like a map or remarks from a docent. But not The House of Cannabis (a.k.a. THC NYC), the new weed museum in Soho. Instead, this museum starts, quite fittingly, with a trippy “Disorientation Room.”

While this museum boasts plenty ofmind-bending multi-sensorybells and whistles, it alsoshowcases art, highlights science and confronts the social justice issues baked into cannabis prosecution. The museum, the first of its kind at this scale, packs every inch of its four-story, 25,000-square-foot space at 427 Broadway with fascinating facts and delightful immersive experiences fit to entertain both tokers and non-smokers alike.Tickets ($45/adult)are on sale now.

The McKittrick Hotel is home to the world-famous production ofSleep No More, a “site-specific, immersive experience” that blurs the line between audience and actor, stage and seating. Itbegan previews in March 2011 and has been continuously extended over the past decade.

Butthe lights are fading out asSleep No Moreconcludes its nearly 13-year run onJuly7, 2024 (an extended run).The pioneering performance has hosted over two million guests and has a sister run still ongoing in Shanghai, China.

Go see the show before it closes;here's our guideto making the most of the experience.

Get ready for heart-pounding experience in the sky unlike any other experience atop a skyscraper.Summit One Vanderbilt sits atop the new 67-floor One Vanderbilt super-tall—a 1,401-foot-high—skyscraper.

As the city's fourth-tallest building after One World Trade Center, Central Park Tower and 111 West 57th Street,it sits just west of Grand Central Terminal, where you first enter the experience underground. After a trip through a mirrored hallway with its own immersive elements, visitors take an elevator up to the 91st floor, where they're 1,000 feet over the streets and sidewalks of NYC.

Kenzo Digital has created a totally mirrored infinity room called "Air" that reflects the sky and city views over and over, making you feel like you're walking in the sky or on another plane of existence. Lookingabove you and below you inthis two-story space, you see your reflection repeating forever.

One of the coolest parts of the experience is that it changes with the weather and time of day. When the weather is nice, it'll look like you're walking among the clouds. When it's stormy, you'll see the rain flysideways and around the building.

Part visual splendor, part olfactory wonder and part ooey-gooey sensory fun,Sloomoo Institute’s slime museumoffers a captivating playgroundfor all ages.

WhileSloomoo is a highly Instagrammable experience, the founders hope you’ll spend some time away from your phone and immersed in the moment during your 90-minute visit to truly have the slime of your life. You can squish vats of slime, make your own slime to take home and even stand under a slime waterfall—that's truly immersive.

Turns out, we're still trying to make fetch happen.

Coinciding with the release of the newMean Girlsmovie, a new immersive experience based on the iconic film is scheduled to debut for a limited time in NYC this spring. The exact opening date is still TBD, so stay tuned.

The experience will involve a fast-casual restaurant serving cafeteria-style fare created byMaster Chefsemi-finalist Chef Becky Brown.Menu items include a “Stab Caesar” salad, the hilariously-named “burn book” burger sliders and a 1 3 5 Acai Bowl.

Passes aren't available yet, but we suggest you add yourself to the waitlist righthereASAP.